Southern Kings edge Jaguares after double red

The Southern Kings won their second match of the Super Rugby season by beating a Jaguares team 29-22 that finished the match with 12 players.

The Jaguares lost two players to Red Cards in the first half but managed to control the match until the 70th minute when they were reduced to 12 players with a yellow card.

In the 25th minute and the 37th minute the Jaguares had a player red carded and then in the 70th minute a player yellow carded which proved to be undoing of the Jaguares.

Even though the Jaguares were down two players they went in for half time leading 3-6 and Nicolas Sanchez extended the lead to 3-15 with a further three penalties in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

The Kings closed the gap with a chargedown try by Schalk Ferreira but from the restart the Jaguares went through 20 phases which ended with Facundo Isa scoring the Argentine side’s only try.

The conversion put the Jaguares back into a 12 point lead but then in the 70th minute Tomás Lezana was yellow carded for pulling down a maul which reduced the Jaguares to 12 players.

The Kings took the scrum with the resulting penalty and were awarded a penalty try which with the conversion cut the deficit to five points.

Witth three extra players on the field the Kings were able to steal the match in the final minutes.

The Kings initially struggled to put the Argentine side away following some questionable tactics after the break.

But, after the Jaguares found themselves with only 12 men on the field after Tomas Lezana was yellow-carded in a 70th minute for collapsing a maul, they managed to win the game after scoring 19 points in the last 10 minutes.

The Kings took a 3-0 lead in the second minute after they were awarded a penalty in the Jaguares’ half. But they lost their fullback Jurgen Visser, who was taken off the field after a knock to the head.

The Kings actually had a lot of possession in and territory in the first half, but their execution and options let them down. And Jaguares flyhalf Nicolas Sanchez then levelled the scores in the 17th minute after with a penalty of his own.

However, the drama started in the 25th minute when Lavaninni was red carded after he made contact with a Kings player’s face with his elbow at a ruck.

Sanchez slotted another penalty for the Jaguares in the 34th minute to make it 6-3, but the visitors soon found themselves another man down after Herrera was sent off for a similar offence.

Sanchez slotted three consecutive penalties after halftime after the Kings decided to kick their possession away instead of trying to take on the Jaguares with ball in hand. The Kings also didn’t straighten the line and they were very easy to defend against.

However, the home side finally managed to get a try when prop Schalk Ferreira fell on the ball in the 58th minute after he charged down Jaguares scrumhalf Martin Landajo’s kick on the goal line.

The Jaguares, though, showed a lot of composure to hit straight back when man of the match Facundo Isa scored after just over 20 phases of pick-and-drives by the visitors.

The Jaguares were leading 22-10 when Lezana was shown a yellow card after repeated infringements by the visitors. The Kings then got a penalty try after deciding to go for a scrum, before Dewald Human and Wandile Mjekevu scored a try each for the home side to secure the bonus-point victory.

The Jaguares return to Super Rugby from the June Internationals with a match at home in Buenos Aires on July 2nd against the Bulls.

The Southern Kings host the Highlanders in Port Elizabeth earlier in the day.